Micah 2
1 Woe [to] those devising iniquity, And working evil on their beds, In the morning light they do it, For their hand is—to God.
Woe to those who devise iniquity and plot evil on their beds! At morning’s light they accomplish it because the power is in their hands.
2 And they have desired fields, And they have taken violently, And houses, and they have taken away, And have oppressed a man and his house, Even a man and his inheritance.
They covet fields and seize them; they take away houses. They deprive a man of his home, a fellow man of his inheritance.
3 Therefore, thus said YHWH: “Behold, I am devising against this family calamity, From which you do not remove your necks, Nor walk loftily, for it [is] a time of evil.
Therefore this is what the LORD says: “I am planning against this nation a disaster from which you cannot free your necks. Then you will not walk so proudly, for it will be a time of calamity.
4 In that day [one] takes up for you an allegory, And he has wailed a wailing of woe, He has said, We have been utterly spoiled, The portion of my people He changes, How He moves toward me! To the backslider our fields He apportions.
In that day they will take up a proverb against you and taunt you with this bitter lamentation: ‘We are utterly ruined! He has changed the portion of my people. How He has removed it from me! He has allotted our fields to traitors.’”
5 Therefore, you have no caster of a line by lot In the assembly of YHWH.
Therefore, you will have no one in the assembly of the LORD to divide the land by lot.
6 You do not prophesy—they prophesy, They do not prophesy to these, It does not remove shame.
“Do not preach,” they preach. “Do not preach these things; disgrace will not overtake us.”
7 [Those] named the house of Jacob: Has the Spirit of YHWH been shortened? Are these His doings? Do My words not benefit the people that are walking uprightly?
Should it be said, O house of Jacob, “Is the Spirit of the LORD impatient? Are these the things He does?” Do not My words bring good to him who walks uprightly?
8 And recently My people raise up as an enemy, You strip off the honorable ornament from the outer garment, From the confident passers by, You who are turning back from war.
But of late My people have risen up like an enemy: You strip off the splendid robe from unsuspecting passersby like men returning from battle.
9 The women of My people you cast out from its delightful house, From its sucklings you take away My honor for all time.
You drive the women of My people from their pleasant homes. You take away My blessing from their children forever.
10 Rise and go, for this [is] not the rest, Because of uncleanness it corrupts, And corruption is powerful.
Arise and depart, for this is not your place of rest, because its defilement brings destruction— a grievous destruction!
11 If one is going [with] the wind, And [with] falsehood has lied: I prophesy to you of wine, and of strong drink, He has been the prophet of this people!
If a man of wind were to come and say falsely, “I will preach to you of wine and strong drink,” he would be just the preacher for this people!
12 I surely gather you, O Jacob, all of you, I surely bring together the remnant of Israel, Together I set it as the flock of Bozrah, As a drove in the midst of its pasture, It makes a noise because of man.
I will surely gather all of you, O Jacob; I will collect the remnant of Israel. I will bring them together like sheep in a pen, like a flock in the midst of its pasture— a noisy throng.
13 The breaker has gone up before them, They have broken through, Indeed, they pass through the gate, Indeed, they go out through it, And their king passes on before them, And YHWH at their head!”
One who breaks open the way will go up before them; they will break through the gate, and go out by it. Their King will pass through before them, the LORD as their leader.
